Much has been reported in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the businesses alive. However will the web version of this classic game provide a salvation, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo is an classic game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to visit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the smoking ban all over UK.
No more will gamblers be permitted to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common areas where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they have not given up on this ancient game?
The answer is on the net. Players realise that they can bet on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the net can never replace the social portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a number of bingo players with little choice.